Proposal to include cancer screening in the list of costs covered by the Health Insurance Fund

Speaking at the Workshop on proposing the development of the scope of health insurance benefits on the issue of early diagnosis and treatment of some diseases in the draft revised health insurance law organized by the Ministry of Health this morning, September 8, in Hanoi, Ms. Tran Thi Trang, acting Director of the Health Insurance Department (Ministry of Health), said that Vietnam currently has 91 million people participating in health insurance, reaching 92.4% of the population. In 2020, more than 150 million times were paid by the Health Insurance Fund.

Nearly 100% of cervical cancer cases detected early are cured.

Currently, the Health Insurance Fund focuses on paying for treatment. Meanwhile, many diseases, if detected early, can greatly reduce treatment costs, thereby reducing the payment burden on people as well as the Health Insurance Fund.

In the draft revised Law on Health Insurance chaired by the Ministry of Health , the drafting committee proposed to amend 5 groups of contents, the most important of which is to expand the rights of health insurance participants.

Currently, about 43% of medical examination and treatment costs are paid out of pocket by people. Vietnam is striving to reduce this rate to 30 - 35%. Ideally, this rate would be only around 25%, giving people more opportunities to access medical services.

According to Ms. Trang, the Ministry of Health proposed to include early screening services (including some types of cancer) for some diseases in the list covered by the Health Insurance Fund so that people can be detected and treated early, thereby reducing the payment burden on the fund as well as the people. This proposal is based on scientific information on the effectiveness of paying for early diagnosis services for some diseases, specifically cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is a common cancer in women. The disease can be prevented by vaccination and cured when detected early and treated early. In Vietnam, there are 5,100 cases of cervical cancer each year and 50% of them die. If not taken care of early, this rate can increase, along with the difficulty of treatment, the cost is much higher.

At the conference, medical experts said that 99 - 100% of early stage cervical cancer and pre-cancerous stage cases are cured.

Vietnam is aiming for 60% of women in risk groups to be screened early for cervical cancer by 2025. Currently, only 28% of women in risk groups are screened. Over the past 5 years, this rate has averaged only 21%.

According to estimates by the World Health Organization and economic experts, 1 USD spent on prevention and early treatment of diseases will help save about 28 USD. Therefore, screening and early detection of some diseases is also a smart, effective, economical way to use and contribute to ensuring the balance of the Health Insurance Fund. At the same time, the scope and benefits of the people are increasingly expanded, reducing people's out-of-pocket expenses for medical services.

The World Health Organization sets a goal that by 2030, 90% of women of reproductive age will be vaccinated against cervical cancer; 70% of women at risk will be screened for early detection; and 90% of detected cases will be treated.

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